M.I.Y.O Monday: Who Serves The Best Halo-Halo?

Growing up in Indonesia, summers were spent back in Manila and that meant one thing for me: halo-halo. My grandparents’ house was very near SM City North EDSA, which was the bomb back then in the early 80s, it being the first SM Supermall.

My fondest memory of that mall is the Digman’s Halo-Halo stall at the Food Court. Their slogan was something like, “Sandosenang sarap!” or something of the sort. (Then, as it is now, my Tagalog is sorely lacking). Behind glistening glass, tiered shelves held bowls of halo-halo’s requisite ingredients: ube, candied saba, garbanzos, red beans, gulaman, sago, leche flan, and others I don’t recall anymore. Those ingredients must’ve been fabulous fakes because they always looked so real; strangely enough however, I never saw the stall attendants scooping anything from those bowls. There were two types of halo-halo, a Regular and a Special. I always got the Special because it had a scoop of ube ice cream.

When I was 9 or 10, my Lolo introduced me to Icebergs halo-halo, his favorite when he was still alive. As a little girl who was used to this summer cooler being served in tall glasses, Icebergs’ goblet was quite the peculiarity but oh, how it gleamed like a jewel box of ingredients! “The best part,” I remember Lolo telling me quite seriously, his index finger raised like a teacher driving home a point, “is the macapuno ball. Every bowl always has one ball.”

Through the years, I’ve been romanced by various halo-halos. I like the one from Milky Way, and of course the Peninsula’s Halo-Halo Harana stupefies in sparkle and size. My mom, who’s never been a fan of Icebergs – “Halo-halo should never have cornflakes,” she sniffs – swears by Razon’s, she’s Kapampangan, after all. The idea of Razon’s all-white halo-halo is very appealing to me, as is their whisper-light shaved ice. Its simplicity is a cool contrast to the common colorful riot.

For me, almost all halo-halos are good but there are a few conditions. First, I detest gulaman – in any form, shape or color so I always fish those out along with the peaches. Halo-halo is a native specialty and peaches are not native. As much as possible, I want ice cream in my halo-halo, ube specifically; it’s just not the same otherwise. A store once offered me mango ice cream because they’d run out of ube. I ran out of the store in reply.

But my absolute, no-holds-barred favorite of halo-halo is the milk that pools at the bottom of the glass. Imbued with all the ingredients that have anointed it, it’s all at once sweet, fruity, cold – the perfect end to the perfect of summer coolers. And I’m not shy about asking the other people I’m eating with if I can have their halo-halo milk, should they decide they don’t want it. Not too long ago, I mentioned my love for halo-halo milk to my friend and artisan ice cream maker, Ian Carandang. And look at what he did .

So tell me: who serves the best halo-halo AND what ingredients do you not like in it?

Note: M.I.Y.O. Monday stands for Make It Your Own Monday, a question thrown out to DCF readers every Monday to jumpstart the week with lively interaction. I also welcome questions and suggestions for future MIYO Mondays. Email me.

Comments

Milky Way halo-halo is my (childhood) favorite. Chowking halo-halo for cheap thrills. Not sure about what I don’t like in the halo-halo, I usually finish the lot. I do remember not eating kaong or nata de coco when I was much younger since I didn’t like the way they tasted.

Hi, Lori! I love Razon’s halo-halo. It’s uncomplicated and yet very, very yummy. Recently, my friends and I went on a Pampanga food tour and I got to sample Kabigting’s halo-halo. It’s very creamy like Razon’s. However, the shaved ice isn’t as fine as that of Razon’s. What I did like about Kabigting’s halo-halo is that it has pastillas!

Ohhh, Kabigting’s and its halo-halo that has pastillas in it! I’ve heard too much about that. Please post a photo here if you’ve got one. Meanwhile, I’m scheduling a Pampanga food trip centered around that halo-halo.

I absolutely adore Kabigting’s! The store is a bit hard to find (thankfully, it’s well-known in the area so you can ask), but totally worth it. No Pampanga trip is complete without this halo-halo. You can try Jurado’s halo-halo too, but I marginally prefer Kabigting’s.

so far, i had the best from Razon’s or for cheapo type, i go for Chowking. I’m all for the jackfruit, beans and gelatins, but leave out the Kaong (its hard for me to chew it and ended up swallowing it whole)

A childhood favorite of mine was the halo-halo at Quick Snack along Carvajal St. in Binondo. I haven’t been there in ages, but I recall their halo-halo to be very old-school, with all the typical ingredients, and served with a miniature mug of evaporated milk (I always prefer evap to fresh milk in my halo-halo).

One ingredient I can’t stand in any halo-halo: langka. Its flavor tends to overpower everything else in the glass.

I like everything except jackfruit. Its pungency tends to overpower everything, so that ruins it for me. My favorite part is always the leche flan, generous servings of it please! I love mixing it in and then having the milk flecked with it, quick bursts of smooth sweetness on my tongue. 🙂

I also don’t like jackfruit (nangka). I’m crazy about it fresh but when it’s in halo-halo it tends to get all stringy and catches in my throat. I like your description of how the leche flan mingles with the milk and how it makes you feel.

Just wanted to say that I’m a quiet fan/lurker. Love your blog, as I do love food.

Little Quiapo has the most authentic halo-halo for me. None of that foreign fruit things, and it’s huge. My parents grew up loving the stuff when they used to date in Manila way back when. Recently, though, Conti’s halo-halo comes close.

there’s one along n. domingo where it meets araneta ave. another is along shaw blvd near acacia lane. third is along f.blumentritt near m salvador. fourth is also along n. domingo near p. parada. the one that makes it best is the one near araneta ave. 45php for ice cream, 40php for ice.

I hope that no one will get offended by my comment but I cannot call something that only contains two ingredients “halo-halo”. How can it be a real mixture of ingredients if it is just monochromatic. I agree that it is delicious but Razon’s specialty is not “halo-halo”. It should be more properly called Saba con hielo with leche flan.

As for a unique halo-halo experience, try the one at Next Door (North Park), they put cheese on it. Weird but the salty, milky taste complements the rest of the ingredients.

El Yong,
No offense taken. Differing opinions are what MIYO Mondays are all about. I’ve heard the same comment too about Razon’s, so you’re not the only one who thinks that. I’m usually so stuffed after a meal at North Park but the idea of cheese in halo-halo is intriguing.

I love Razon’s halo-halo. “Pinung-pinong” ice really makes a big difference. Is it also true that Razon uses carabao’s milk? I have this strange halo-halo eating ritual of eating some of the ice with milk before mixing all the ingredients. That’s why ice and milk make or break a halo-halo for me. For now, I’m enjoying the P15 halo-halo sold here in our neighborhood. 🙂

I’m not fond of halo-halo, and when I tasted ice kacang in Singapore, i became such a fan! I know they’re not entirely the same, but the creamy corn sealed the deal for me. Or maybe it was just my preference for mais con yelo that’s why I liked ice kacang more 😀

I’ve also tried ice kacang of Singapore but it was the mix-it/do-it-yourself type at a hotel so I haven’t really enjoyed the original Singaporean taste of it…by the way, I also dig Banang’s specially for its shaved cheese toppings on their halo-halo…

I’ve grown fond of Razon’s just because it has all my favorite halos, but my favorite would be the one our neighborhood halo-halo stall sells. They use homemade halos and they don’t put nata and kaong. Delicious and pretty darn cheap too! 😀

Love this post! The one thing I hate most in halo halo is 3/4 of the ice. Hahaha! I always ask for an empty glass with my halo halo order so I can take out 3/4 of the ice. The only halo halo I don’t do this to is that of Razon’s — only in Pampanga. After eating Razon’s in Pampanga, the Manila one tastes so bland and just too full of ice. Digman’s comes close and Little Quiapo’s, too! Chow King would be great if there were less ice.

I love halo halo! Any halo halo with lots of leche flan and milk is good enough for me! 🙂 Only thing I don’t like on it is the pinipig…

I’ve always thought of having a halo halo party and all the guests (just a few not so weirded out friends) will bring ingredients that they want on their halo halo… the ice, milk and leche flan on me! 🙂

Halo-Halo de Iloko in San Fernando, La Union has a refreshing treat too! Have you tried it? I like ordering extra yema with my halo-halo just to make my inner kid happy and jump with joy (and sugar high). 😀

Digman’s Halo Halo (at Baranggay Digman, Bacoor, Cavite) can’t be beat. They use home made sangkap made fresh daily plus real full cream milk (not the filled milk kind used in most halo halo places in the Philippines).

Hi Lori. You may want to try Mommy’s Halo Halo. While they are known for carrying Dolor’s Kakanin, they serve a mean Halo Halo for less than Php100. When you order, you will be surprised to see that the glass is half full with its inclusions – that’s how sinful it is. They use Dolor’s leche flan and ube halaya.

Hi Lori, the closest I get to a halo halo these days is ordering taiwanese bing sha’s, shaved ice with fruit toppings and condensed milk. There are a few that add beans or pudding, but the presentation (large wide mouth bowl with a mountain of ice) definitely isn’t the same as the tall goblets used for halo halo. I prefer our tall glasses, since the milk melts the ice, the fruit flavors trickle downwards, and, yes, guzzling down the milk at the end is the only way to show satisfaction. Over here, the ice/milk/fruit melts in a puddle and it’s harder to tip the bowl into my mouth (I tried!!!).
I miss Razons, and Digmaan’s, and Chowkings (we used to have that once a week at work). I could do without the jackfruit and I vote for pinipig over cereal flakes any day. My attack is always to dig the long spoon as far down into the glass, shoveling away at the ice so that the milk and tidbits above can swirl into a blend. After a few seconds of mushing everything together, I scoop up my first bite, hoping for at least one bean, one bit of leche flan, maybe some ube, and whatever other add-ons tossed in there. I want the soft, the milky soup, the chewy pinipig, all in one go.

If you ever travel to Tiwi, Albay (or Naga or Legaspi pwede din), try DJC halo-halo. So far, this is the best halo-halo for me (and I made a promise to myself before to try every halo-halo that I can get my hands on.

I rather have real ube halaya on top of my halo-halo rather than the ube flavored ice cream.

I hate corn and/or melon in halo-halo. For me, their flavor is overpowering the rest of the ingredients. I also request to not include tapioca (sago) in my halo-halo because i think it’s only a ‘filler’.